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Congress presses DOE on HALEU supply, reprocessing and spent fuel strategy
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Summary
Members asked Secretary Wright about plans to expand domestic HALEU production, advance reprocessing technologies and pursue a consent‑based approach to consolidated interim storage for spent nuclear fuel.
Congressional members pressed Department of Energy officials on May 7 about accelerating domestic production of high‑assay low‑enriched uranium (HALEU), funding for advanced reactors and the long‑term management of spent nuclear fuel.
The exchanges matter because HALEU availability and spent fuel policy are central to next‑generation reactor demonstrations, commercial deployment timelines and the department’s nuclear strategy.
Chairman Chuck Fleischmann noted Congress provided funding in fiscal 2024—citing roughly $2.7 billion—to support HALEU and asked what the department was doing to speed domestic enrichment capacity. Secretary Chris Wright said DOE had already allocated HALEU from DOE stockpiles to five companies to support near‑term fuel needs, had issued a request for interest for domestic low‑enriched uranium production, and planned to issue a HALEU solicitation. Wright told the committee the department was evaluating how best to deploy congressional capital to reestablish U.S. enrichment capabilities for HALEU and low‑enriched uranium.
On reprocessing and the back end of the fuel cycle, members including Fleischmann and Representative Jerry Levin urged a shift from the long‑standing approach. Wright said DOE had prepared a study on reprocessing that would be released “before too long” and described spent fuel as “a resource, not a burden.” Representative Levin and other members sought a bipartisan, consent‑based approach to consolidated interim storage; Wright said he favors an opt‑in model and that the department’s nuclear team was developing integrated management plans and consent‑based siting ideas.
Members also pressed for funding stability for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and for the department to prefer base discretionary budget increases to relying on reconciliation. Wright said he supported increased resources for the NNSA but preferred them requested via the base discretionary process rather than reconciliation.
No formal committee action was taken at the hearing; members requested follow‑up briefings and committed to work with the secretary on HALEU procurement, reprocessing studies and a consent‑based spent fuel strategy.
